Flashlights with a dash of pepper spray

Andrew Edwards

Talk about being blinded by the light, a Newport Beach security firm

has developed a flashlight with built-in pepper spray capability.

The weapon, dubbed the Cobra Stunlight, was designed by Shield

Defense International Ltd., a subsidiary of Newport Beach’s Universal

Guardian Holdings Inc. The company has offices in Hong Kong and a

distribution center in Newport Beach.

The light was designed primarily for police, military and security

professionals who need a tool to subdue an assailant without causing

death or serious injury, Universal Guardian chief executive Michael

Skellern said.

The Stunlight can fire a burst of pepper spray over a distance of

about 21 feet, Skellern said. A police officer using the light

against a suspect would have to release a safety catch before being

able to spray a suspect. Once the safety is released, the flashlight

would emit a laser showing where the spray would hit the target --

similarly to lasers that can be attached to firearms.

“A laser is generally accepted to cause a pause in combat once

they see that dot,” Skellern said.

If the laser does not deter a suspect, a police officer can push a

button to send a stream of pepper spray into a suspect’s face.

“It causes respiratory distress, you have a hard time breathing,

you can’t see, and you feel like you’re skin’s on fire,” Skellern

said.

The effects of the pepper spray can be felt for 30 to 40 minutes

unless the spray is neutralized. Specially treated wipes to relieve

the pain will be sold with the Stunlights, which have a price tag of

about $249.

Skellern said he believes the Stunlight can give police an

advantage in a confrontation. An officer using the weapon as a

flashlight wouldn’t have to pull a pepper spray canister from his

belt.

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach police carry pepper spray but are not

currently considering adding the Stunlight to their equipment,

department representatives said. Both departments do supply their

officers with specialized equipment designed to subdue suspects

without killing them.

“The whole purpose is to control the individual and to use the

least amount of force possible,” Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve

Shulman said.

Newport Beach Police have added Taser stun guns to their equipment

in the past year, and they also use less-than-lethal beanbag shotgun

rounds, Shulman said.

Costa Mesa police do not use the beanbag rounds, but instead use a

40mm sponge-ball round that is fired out of a weapon that looks like

a grenade launcher, Costa Mesa Police range-master Dave Kress said.

Kress believes being hit with a sponge ball, comparable to being hit

with a racquetball at high speed, is less dangerous than being shot

with beanbags.

“The problem with beanbags is sometimes they penetrate,” Kress

said.

Newport police have updated their beanbag ammunition since they

started using the system to use less dangerous beanbags, Shulman

said.

Universal Guardian’s invention is one of many products offered to

police departments, Kress said.

“Every year, they come out with something new,” Kress said.

Skellern wants to market the light to police departments across

the world. Chicago Police spokesman Pat Camden said his department

was in the early stages of looking at the Stunlight, which he said

was one of many tools police are considering.

A Universal Guardian subsidiary, Secure Risks Ltd., with offices

in London, is a security contractor that hires ex-military and

intelligence personnel for dignitary protection and other jobs in hot

spots, such as Afghanistan. Skellern described Secure Risks

personnel, who will carry the Stunlight, as “a built-in regional

sales team.”

Skellern said one Middle Eastern country was interested in

purchasing the Stunlight for its national police force, but he

declined to name that nation. He also wants to market the invention

to the general public.

Pepper spray is a hot seller at Costa Mesa’s Grant’s for Guns,

store vice president Jack Carver said. Carver has not seen the

Stunlight, but after hearing of the 15-inch long invention, he

wondered if customers would want to carry a large device.

“[Customers are] always saying ‘I want as much juice as I can get,

but that one’s too bulky,’” Carver said.

Skellern said he hopes to have the product on the consumer market

by the end of the year.